Ed Morris criticizes the Republican legislature and Gov. Pat McCrory for their decision not to expand Medicaid in our state to accommodate Obamacare. Morris tells us that the Federal government will pay for 100 percent of the increase for three years and 90 percent afterwards (with our taxpayer money, of course). To understand the Republican viewpoint, Dr. Morris may benefit from some local political history.

Kent Coward from Jackson County was a respected GOP activist. To explain how a government program works, he liked to use an anecdote on how to get wild hogs into a cage. According to Kent, you start by scattering corn near the cage. Keep the corn coming for a few days then move it a little closer to the cage. Over time move the corn into the cage, and when the hogs go in to eat, shut the door.

Medicaid expansion is a big bushel of corn. There are crushing costs and strangling regulations that accompany Obamacare. A full-time job could become a relic of the past as the law adds $1 per hour to employment expense for some companies. The IRS says that a family of four can expect to pay $20,000 per year for the lowest level “qualified” health insurance. And no one can trust the federal government to keep making those increased Medicaid payments.

North Carolina may be forced into the use of more Medicaid because more workers will be held at a part-time situation. But for the time being, Dr. Morris, North Carolinians don’t want that corn.